Once we finally reached the town my entire body felt like it had been fed through a meat grinder. The adrenaline from escaping the tower had started wearing off somewhere along the walk and now all the smaller problems were becoming real again.
My arms were shaking from carrying the princess for this long, my chest kept tightening every few minutes from the mana instability, and every time she shifted against me another sharp pulse of pressure slammed through my ribs hard enough to make my breathing sharp.
Walking into town, I noticed how normal it all looked compared to the nightmare we had just crawled out of.
Lanterns hanging outside buildings, people still awake inside the tavern. Somebody arguing over cards through an open window farther down the street.
I honestly welcomed it, something normal without a doubt beat getting crushed by collapsing rocks any day of the week.
"You can put me down now," the princess said quietly against my shoulder.
